Same Difference? I Think Not!
by MoonlightDisco
Summary: Set after Futuritis. Dasey! *Rewritten*
1. Lists and Pizza

Disclaimer - Sadly, I do not own Life With Derek. But if someone wanted to get me a birthday present…

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"_You're the most annoying brother-"_

"Step-_brother."_

"_Same difference."_

"_Yeah. You're right."_

Casey was laying on her side in her bed thinking about what she said to Derek and the way he reacted. She couldn't get his face out of her mind. _He looked so…disappointed? No, couldn't be. Derek disappointed over me? Yeah, right! Right? _She rolled over onto her back and stared up at her ceiling. _And why can't I stop thinking about that!? _She sighed loudly and wondered if Derek was having the same problems on the other side of the thin wall. _Of course not. It's Derek, _she thought and laughed out loud. They really had grown closer their senior year. Yeah, they were still fighting (I mean come on, it's Casey and Derek), but they were actually starting to get along a little bit. They had such a love-hate relationship. _Wait! No! Not love. More like…tolerate-hate. Ugh, _everything_ is changing! Derek and I are going to Queens. Lizzie and Edwin are starting high school. Mom and George are having a baby. Marti isn't the baby anymore and is acting more grown up. Derek broke up with Emily. _She smiled as she thought of that day.

~FLASHBACK~

_It had been a week since graduation and Casey was laying on her bed, reading a book when she heard the familiar song of her ringtone. She put her book mark in her book and started singing and dancing with the music._

"_She wants to touch me, woo ooh. She wants to love me woo ooh. She'll never leave me woo ooh woo ooh, ooh ooh--Hello?" she said, finally answering._

"_Hey, Casey," Emily whimpered._

"_Em? What's wrong?" Casey asked with concern for her best friend and Emily burst out in tears._

"_Der-Derek. He-he…he broke up with me!" Emily sobbed and Casey's eyes went wide._

"_What? Where? Why? When?"_

"_Just today. We were having lunch at Smelly Nelly's and he said that it wasn't going to work out! I mean seriously, he could have told me the truth!" Emily yelled, suddenly angry._

"_Wait, Em, back up. What do you mean, he could have told you the truth?" _

_Emily sighed, annoyed. "Well, _obviously_, there's someone else. I mean I should have known! It's Derek! He doesn't do relationships. Jeez, I was such an idiot!"_

"_No, you're not, Em. He's the idiot. And it's not your fault that you fell victim to the Venturi 'charm' even though I still don't understand," Casey laughed._

"_Wow, Case. Thanks for making me feel so much better," Emily said dryly._

"_I'm sorry."_

"_No, it's okay," Emily laughed, "I gotta go, but I'll talk to you later, kay?"_

"_Okay. Bye, Em."_

"_Later, Case."_

_Casey flipped her phone close and set it back on her nightstand. She cleared her throat and then yelled, "_Der-ek!_" She jumped up and barged into his room without knocking. Derek was laying on his bed reading a comic book and she stood over him. He looked up at her and smiled._

"_What's up, Case?"_

"_How could you break up with Emily!? You two _just _started going out! And you knew that she's _way_ too obsessed with you! But no! You still had to--Wait, why are you being nice to me? Why aren't you kicking me out of your room?"_

_Derek started laughing and went back to his comic book. "I'm being nice because I'm happy," he said as if it were obvious. _

_Casey's mouth fell open. "Der-ek! You're _happy _because you broke up with Emily? I always knew you were a jerk!"_

_Derek focused back on Casey with a hurt look on his face. "I won't lie, I am happy to not be going out with Emily anymore--no, I'm talking--but only because I didn't want to lead her on anymore. And anyway, how would it have worked out with us going to different colleges?"_

_Casey was calm now and she was looking thoughtfully at Derek. "Okay, yeah, maybe I can sort of understand that. Wait, is there somebody else?"_

_Derek smirked. "Why, are you interested?"_

_Casey rolled her eyes and turned to leave, but then stopped, still facing the door. "Hey, don't tell Emily, or anybody for that matter, this, but I'm kind of glad that you two aren't dating anymore," Casey turned to face Derek, her brows furrowed, "Whatever that means." And then she was gone, leaving Derek smirking to himself._

~END FLASHBACK~

_And also I broke up with Truman. _Casey felt tears coming on as she thought of that memory.

~FLASHBACK~

_It was two weeks after Derek broke up with Emily and Casey was shaking as she unlocked the front door and stepped in. Her eyes were uncommonly dry and she was proud of herself that she hadn't broken down yet. She shrugged out of her coat and hung it up, then turned toward the living room and was surprised to see Derek lounging on his chair watching the hockey game highlights. _

"_Derek?" His head snapped up to where she was when he heard her voice and they locked eyes, hers filled with confusion and hurt and his with mischief and concern. _

"_How was the party?"_

_Casey laughed darkly and walked over to the couch where sat and brought her knees up. "Well, I learned that I'm an idiot."_

"_I could of told you that," Derek joked._

"_Yeah, well, Truman--"_

"_What happened?" Derek asked, suddenly angry._

_Casey was all ready to lie but then she looked up and their eyes met again and there was something in the way he was looking at her that made her say, "I caught Truman making out with some skinny blonde. So I broke up with him."_

_Derek was furious. He was ready to go find that scum right now and beat the crap out of him. But he looked back at Casey and his brow furrowed. "Wait, no tears?" _

_Casey laughed and shook her head, "Surprising, huh?" She stopped smiling and looked at the carpet, "Why did I ever take him back?" _

_Derek felt a pang of guilt when she said that. "I'm sorry," he whispered._

_Casey head shot up. "What?"_

_Derek looked up at her. "What?" _

"_What did you just say?"_

"_Nothing?" Derek said as a question._

"_Derek," she said warningly. _

"_Okay, okay. I said I'm sorry." Casey looked confused so Derek continued, "It's my fault. I shouldn't have got him to ask you to prom. I was just being selfish and I'm sorry."_

_Casey's eyes were wide and her mouth was wide open. "Who are you and where's Derek?"_

"_Ha. Ha. It's just because I'm tired," Derek said before turning off the TV, "Expect the old Derek back tomorrow." He got up from his chair and started toward the stairs._

"_Wouldn't want it any other way," Casey laughed before following Derek up the stairs. They reached their rooms when Casey turned back to Derek. "And thank you, Derek."_

_Derek smirked and nodded his head and they each went into their separate bedrooms._

~END FLASHBACK~

The next morning Derek had switched her shampoo with honey and they never talked about that night again. But Casey still couldn't help smiling just before drifting off to sleep.

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Her alarm woke her up the next morning and she quickly turned it off. Even though school had been out for half the summer, she still needed to be in the habit of getting up early since she was going to college in a couple weeks. _Oh god, college. _Casey shook her head trying to get rid of the thought and then got up to get dressed. She finally decided on a bright pink polo and ripped jeans. She put on her makeup and then spritzed on some of her--and Derek's--favorite perfume. She was about to open her door when she stopped. _Wait, did I really just think that? _Derek's_ favorite perfume? Who cares? _She scoffed to herself then bounded out of her room and smacked directly into none other than her step-brother, Derek. He grabbed Casey to keep her from falling over and then laughed. She felt a little shock go through her body when he touched her.

"Whoa, Klutzilla. Watch where you're going."

"Why don't you--you know what never mind," she sighed and then looked down at Derek's hands which were still on Casey's waist. "You know, I'm not falling anymore," She said matter-of-factly. He quickly removed his hands and ran them through his hair. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Nora calling up to them.

"Casey! Derek! Breakfast!"

Derek pushed pass Casey and practically ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. _What was _that _about? _Casey thought to herself. She was hungry though, so she would just have to think about that later. She took her time walking down the stairs, through the living and dining room and then finally got to the kitchen. Derek was sitting at the island so she walked to the other side and filled a glass with orange juice. He, of course, was stuffing his mouth full of chocolate chip pancakes. She looked at him with disgust and then down at the platter on the island. It, of course, had absolutely nothing on it.

"_Der-ek!" _Casey shouted and Derek started laughing. She looked around for her mom but the rest of the room was empty. "Where is everybody?"

Derek swallowed and took a big gulp of orange juice before answering. "Nora and my dad took Marti to the zoo and Lizzie and Edwin went over to a friend's house."

Casey nodded her head, leaned against the island and then looked at Derek's plate. He still had three pancakes left. She looked back up at Derek and smiled. "How about you give your favorite step-sister some pancakes," She said sweetly.

"Oh, I would, but I already told you she went to a friend's house with Edwin," he said with a serious look on his face.

She glared at him and then stood straight up. "You know what," she said confidently, "forget it. I'll find something else." She turned around and started scouring the cupboards, looking for anything to stop her stomach from growling. Derek had already finished the three pancakes and put his plate in the sink. He walked over to Casey and sat on the counter underneath the cupboard that she was looking in.

"So what are you doing today, Spacey?"

"Why do you want to know?" Casey asked, not taking her eyes off the contents of the cupboard.

Derek shrugged, "Just curious."

"Since when are you 'just curious' about me?" she asked turning toward him with a raised eyebrow and a box of cereal.

He smiled and took the box from her and then started eating from it. "Maybe I like you."

"Really?" Casey squeaked.

Derek burst out laughing. "Wow, Case. Gullible much?"

She glared at him again and yanked the box of cereal back from him. She walked over to the island and plopped down on the stool that Derek was sitting on.

"So really, what were you gonna do today?" Derek asked, still sitting on the countertop.

Casey looked up at him suspiciously, then said, "I was going to go to the mall and get some stuff for college." Casey gulped when she said 'college' but again pushed the thought from her mind.

"Mind if I tag along?"

"Yes," she said simply.

"Come on, Case. Please?"

"Why do _you_ want to go with _me_?"

"So then I can just follow you around and buy whatever you do," he smirked.

Casey rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever." She got up and stuck the box of cereal into the cupboard next to Derek. "Let's go," she said and without waiting for him to respond, she grabbed her purse and was out the door.

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They got to the mall and the first thing that Casey saw was a sale at Ralph Lauren. She gasped and began to walk in that direction, but Derek pulled her back.

"Ah ah ah," he shook his finger in front of Casey's face, "is a new tank top from Ralph Lauren _really _on your list?" He asked pointing to the piece of paper that she was clutching. She sighed and sadly shook her head no. "Okay then," he said taking the list from her hands as she looked longingly at the store. "Let's see what's first. Pencils," he read and then pulled Casey away from the sale and toward the office supply store.

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Casey and Derek were now sitting in the food court with a pizza on their table and millions of bags surrounding them. They had been shopping for the last three hours, with Derek complaining every five minutes and Casey saying, "_You're _the one who wanted to come."

Now Derek was, once again, stuffing his mouth full with pizza while Casey was going over her list and checking in each bag.

"Casey, stop!" Derek suddenly said and Casey looked up at him with widened eyes. "You've been over that list a million times. We've gotten _everything _we need for college. Probably for the rest of our lives!" Casey just rolled her eyes and continued checking things off her list. Derek slapped a hand to his face and then reached over and grabbed the list from her.

"Hey! Give that back!" She shouted at him even though she again felt that tiny shock when he touched her.

"No. You're gonna make yourself go crazy," Derek said and then picked up another slice of pizza.

"You've already accomplished that," Casey sighed and Derek just smirked. Casey extended her hand to him and said, "Please, just give it back." Derek shook his head and instead put the slice of pizza her was holding into her hand. She glared at him and took a bite of the pizza.

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Reviews are appriciated!


	2. Cranberry Red Shocks

Disclaimer - Sadly, I do not own Life With Derek. But if someone wanted to get me a birthday present…

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Later that evening, the entire McDonald-Venturi clan were sitting around their dining room table, eating. Marti was going on and on about the zoo and all the animals she saw. When she finally took a break and started eating her food, Nora said to Casey and Derek, "Oh, I almost forgot. We're going to be painting your rooms tonight."

Casey looked at her mother and asked, "Why?"

"Well, we're turning Derek's room into the baby's room and Nora and I will be moving back into Casey's room," George said all while cutting his steak.

Casey's eyes got wide and she look up at Derek who had an annoyed look on his face. "Derek's giving up his room?!" Derek rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Yes, he is," George told her.

"Oh, well, have fun," Casey said brightly and Derek nodded. Nora snorted and Casey and Derek looked at her, confused.

"Well, by 'we', she meant you two," George explained, pointing to Derek and Casey.

"And you two will need to sleep in the living room tonight after you've finished," Nora said to the two teens who sat on either side of her and were looking at her, confused. "I don't want you sleeping in your rooms, getting high off the paint fumes!" Nora exclaimed with widened eyes.

Derek and Casey looked at each other and then burst out laughing. Pretty soon everybody at the dinner table was cracking up.

"Okay, okay," Nora said, out of breath from laughing. "But seriously, the paint and brushes are already in your rooms."

"Okay, mom," Casey smiled at her pregnant mother.

"Good," George smiled, "Lizzie, Edwin. Will you two please clear the dishes." They both groaned but got up and started taking dishes into the kitchen. "Derek, Casey, you can go start on your rooms." They both also groaned but got up and walked up the stairs. When they reached the doors to their bedrooms Derek turned to Casey.

"Bet I can beat you."

"This isn't a competition, Derek," Casey told him.

"Sure it's not," Derek laughed and then slammed his door on her. She scoffed and walked into hers.

There was a can of paint on the floor and brushes beside it. All of her furniture was pushed into the center of the room and plastic was on the floor around the walls. She sighed, opened the paint can and poured it into the tray that the brushes were in. It was a cranberry red. Groaning, she walked over to her bed where there was a clean pile of laundry. She took off her ripped jeans and cute pink polo, not wanting to get red paint on them. She looked through the clothes that were folded on her bed and found her old gray sweats. She also found one of Derek's band t-shirts and put it on. _Well, I didn't want to get paint on any of _my _clothes anyway, _Casey thought to herself and then laughed out loud. She heard Derek's rock music start blaring from his room so she plugged her stereo back in and turned her pop music up.

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Casey was on the last wall of her bedroom when her door flew open and Derek came in. He shut her door, turned off her radio, and then walked over to where she was painting.

"Still not done?" He asked, smirking.

"No, and I already told you that it's not a competition," Casey said and then looked over to see Derek's mouth wide open and staring at her shirt.

"Is that my--no it can't be--my-" Derek stuttered before looking back up at Casey. "Where did you get that?"

Casey looked down at her shirt. "It was in my clean laundry."

"But that's my shirt," Derek said pointing the shirt. "And there's paint on it!"

Casey put down her paint roller and put her hands on Derek's shoulders. "Calm down, D. It's just a shirt," she said, trying to hold back the laughter. "Now, help me finish this last wall and I'll buy you a new one." He looked at Casey suspiciously. She smiled and picked her roller back up. "I promise." Derek glared at her but picked up a paint roller and started helping her paint the rest of the wall.

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Derek painted the last bit of wall and then stepped back to admire his work. Casey was standing next to the wall and said, "Thanks."

Instead of saying anything, Derek picked up an unused paint brush, dipped it in the red paint and whipped the paint at Casey. It splattered everywhere on her. Her face, arms, sweats, Derek's shirt. Her eyes were shut and her mouth was wide open. Derek started laughing and Casey wiped it out of her eyes and then screamed, "_Der-ek_!" which only made him laugh harder.

"Calm down, Case. It's just _you."_ Derek managed to say to Casey while laughing. Her jaw clenched. She absolutely hated it when people told her to calm down, especially Derek.

She frantically looked around the floor, grabbed the paint can and threw the rest of the paint on him. Derek stopped laughing and now he was staring at Casey with his mouth open. He dipped the brush in the paint again and started coming at Casey. Her eyes widened and she started saying, "Derek! Derek, stop!" He reached her and tried to paint on her but she grabbed his wrists and they started fighting over the brush. Casey slipped and fell onto the floor, bringing Derek down with her. "Owww," Casey moaned. She sat up and rested her back against her bed and Derek did the same. She looked over and stuck her entire hand in the paint tray and then put it against Derek's cheek. She pulled it back and started laughing at Derek who had her hand print on his cheek. He looked over at her and couldn't help laughing along with her.

Nora and George burst into the room and saw Casey and Derek sitting on the floor against the bed. Casey had red paint splattered on her face and clothing and her one hand was completely red. The front of Derek's clothes were drenched with paint and he had a single hand print on his cheek. They were both laughing uncontrollably when they finally saw Nora and George standing in the doorway.

"What happened?!" Nora shouted.

"It's--all--Derek's--fault!" Casey said between giggles. Derek looked over at Casey with a surprised look even though he was laughing. "What? You're the--one who--splattered paint all--over me!"

"Derek!" George exclaimed as Nora and he turned their rage on Derek.

"No--this all started--because _you_ got paint--all over my shirt!" Derek accused her while still laughing.

"Casey?" Nora asked as they turned on her.

"It doesn't matter _who_ started this! You'll both clean this up. Now!" George demanded and Casey and Derek stopped laughing. He and Nora slammed the door shut on their way out, muttering something about how much cleaner the house will be when school starts.

Derek got up and started walking towards the door and said over his shoulder, "Have fun."

Casey jumped up and grabbed Derek's arm and felt that stupid shock. "And just _where_ do you think you're going?"

He turned around to face her. "To wash your creation off," he pointed to her hand print on his face. She looked at him and burst out laughing again. "Yeah, well you should see yourself."

She stopped laughing, ran to her purse and took out a compact. She opened it up and looked at her paint-splattered face. She started giggling and didn't notice Derek come up behind her with the paint tray. He dumped it on her head and she saw red paint run down her face. She whirled around and screamed, "Der-_ek_!" She ran to the door and tried to open it but it wouldn't come open. "Mom?" she yelled.

"What?" Nora said, pointedly.

"Mom, I really need to wash my hair!" Casey shouted through the door frantically.

"_After _that room is clean!"

Derek started laughing and Casey turned on him. "You think that's funny?" Derek's laughter was obviously his answer to that question. "Fine," she said as she marched over to him. Once she was face to face with him, she started whipping her hair and the paint flew off and landed all over Derek. She smiled at him once she was finished. "Now _that _is funny," she said looking at Derek who had even more paint on him and now through _his _hair.

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Once the room was spotless, Casey and Derek were allowed to take showers. When they were racing each other to the bathroom, Casey tripped Derek and quickly shut the door as he called, "Cheater!" out to her. Now they were in the living room, Casey on the couch and Derek on his chair, both with blankets. Casey was still whining about her hair.

"It looks _fine_," Derek lied. Casey glared at him and raised up a piece of her hair.

"_This _does not look fine!" She looked down at the red streaked piece of hair she was holding and started to tear up again. She could hear Derek start to snicker and she threw a pillow at him.

"Hey!"

"It's your fault."

"No, it's not," Derek said dismissively and Casey looked at him with her mouth open.

"Uh, yeah it was. _You're_ the one who poured paint down my head!" Derek started snickering again. "You're such a jerk."

"So you keep telling me," he said while flipping through channels.

"Let me have the remote," Casey said turning to Derek again but he ignored her. "Derek! Can I please have the remote?"

He finally looked at her and said, "No, you may not. But thanks for asking so politely."

"Derek," she said but he was ignoring her again. "Fine," she said before she crawled to the arm of the couch and grabbed the remote. Derek still had a hold of it though and now they started fighting over it. "Give it!" Casey said.

Derek pulled hard on it and she toppled over the arm of the couch and was now on the chair with Derek. They kept fighting and eventually fell onto the floor with Derek on top of Casey. And although she'd never admit it, she was feeling those shocks like crazy. The remote was nowhere to be seen but neither of them really cared about that right now. Casey was still clutching Derek's shirt to keep from falling too hard, and Derek was on his knees holding himself up with his hands which were on the floor next to Casey's head. And before she knew it Derek was leaning down toward her. She felt his lips brush up against hers and then--and then the light came on and someone was walking into the living room. Derek jumped off of Casey and back onto his chair and Casey climbed back onto the couch before Nora came into view.

She smiled at them and sat down on the couch with Casey. "Hey, I couldn't sleep and I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about earlier." Casey stared blankly at her because she couldn't really think at the moment. Her mom laughed and said, "About you hair." Casey automatically reached up to feel her red-streaked and she could feel the tears coming on. "But we'll go to the hair salon tomorrow, kay?"

Casey nodded, "Yeah. Thanks, mom."

Nora smiled, kissed Casey on her forehead and then got up and started toward the basement. The light went back off and Casey looked over at Derek but he was pretending to be asleep. She sighed, got under her covers and quickly fell asleep.

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Give me an R! R! Give me an E! E! Give me a V! V! Give me an I! I! Give me another E! Another E! Give me a W! W! What does that spell? The pretty button at the bottem that's just calling your name! =]


	3. Same Difference?

Disclaimer - Sadly, I do not own Life With Derek. But if someone wanted to get me a birthday present…

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Casey woke up the next morning, face down on the couch. She groaned and then what happened last night came crashing back into her mind. She quickly sat up and looked over at Derek's chair, but he wasn't there. She sighed and got up, turning to walk into the kitchen, and her heartbeat quickened when she saw Derek. He was sitting at the island eating a bowl of cereal. She walked to the other side of the island and poured some cereal into a bowl. She saw Derek glance up at her and then back down at his cereal, so she sighed and sat next to him.

"Can we talk?" Casey asked him, cautiously.

"About what?" Derek replied, still looking into his cereal.

Casey's jaw dropped. "Uhm, maybe about what happened last night?"

"It was nothing," he said without all of his usual Derek-ness.

"But, Derek--" Casey began to argue, but Derek cut her off.

"Stop! Casey," he said, finally looking at her, "get it through your head! It was absolutely nothing."

Casey was on the verge of tears and looked down at her uneaten cereal. Edwin and Lizzie came racing down the stairs and into the kitchen, laughing, but stopped short when they saw Casey.

"Casey, what's wrong?" Edwin asked.

It surprised Casey that he was the one to ask instead of Lizzie. She looked up at him, but couldn't help from screaming, "Why don't you ask your stupid, idiotic, good for nothing brother!" She let the tears flow freely now and ran up the stairs. She could faintly hear Lizzie ask what Derek did now before she slammed her bedroom door shut.

She quickly got dressed and put on a tiny bit of makeup, cringing when she saw her hair in the mirror, and then sat at her desk. She heard a knock on the door and her mother came in and sat on the edge of the bed, in front of Casey.

Nora sighed, "What did he do this time?"

Casey was about to tell her mom everything but quickly shut her mouth. She couldn't tell her what happened last night, so she just shook her head and said, "It's no big deal. Just forget it."

Nora sighed again and got up. "Okay, well are you ready to go get this hair fixed?" she asked, pulling on a piece of Casey's hair.

Casey laughed and stood up. "Please," she said.

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Derek was lounging on the couch watching TV, but the only thing going through his mind was Casey. He couldn't stop thinking about her and it was driving him crazy._ Why do I have to be so mean to her? _he thought to himself over and over again. The front door opened and the object of his thoughts walked in. His breath caught for a second before he thought, _It's just Casey, calm down! _

"Your hair looks better," Derek commented to Casey, who just gave him a dirty look and ran up to her room. He sighed, turned off the TV and followed her. He stood outside her closed door for a minute, took a deep breath then opened it. Casey was at her desk and when she saw him she asked, "Don't you knock?"

Derek laughed and closed the door. "Uhm, no?"

She rolled her eyes and turned back to face her desk. "What do you want?"

"To say I'm--" Casey was now looking at him expectantly and trying not to smile. He started again, "I'm sorry."

"For…" she said and drew the word out.

He glared playfully at her. "I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier and for pouring paint on your head."

"Why did you get so mad this morning?" Casey asked and he just shrugged. "Derek! We're going to need to talk about this sooner or later."

"How 'bout later?"

Casey glared at him again. "You're kidding, right?"

"Oh, of course, Case," he lied and then nervously laughed. Casey rolled her eyes, obviously seeing right through his lie, so he sat on the end of her bed in front of her. "Okay, Casey, let's talk," he said, shuddering at the words.

She bit back a smile and said, "Okay, so what exactly happened last night?"

"Yeah," Derek said as he stood up and started walking over to the door, "can't do this."

Casey's eyes got wide and she jumped up and ran in front of Derek, blocking the door.

"Then let me ask a easier question! Why did you kiss me?" Casey shouted.

Derek's jaw clenched, but then he said calmly, "Casey, Casey, Casey. _That _was not a kiss."

"Oh, _really_? Then what exactly was it, Derek?" Casey asked, her arms now crossed in front of her.

"I--I don't know, but it was _not _a kiss," he said, angrily.

Casey looked like she was about to cry now, but managed to say, "Why are you getting so mad about this?"

"Because you think--" he snapped but stopped, rubbing his face in his hands. "Just forget it."

"No!"

"Ugh, you are the most annoying sister--" Derek shouted at her, but she cut him off.

"_Step_-sister!" She corrected him, surprising them both. Derek took a step back, both of them remembering the same words said the night they graduated. He shook his head then pushed passed her and slammed the door shut. She fell on to the bed, breaking down into tears before drifting into unconsciousness.

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	4. Not For Long

Nora was gently shaking Casey and calling her name. Casey's eyes fluttered opened and she glanced at her clock. 5:01pm. She groaned and put her arm over her eyes. It had seemed like only minutes ago she was arguing with Derek, but it had actually been three hours.

"Casey, honey, we were going to go out to dinner," Nora said softly.

Casey pulled her arm away from her eyes and said, "Mom, I don't feel so good. Do you mind if I just stay here?"

"Of course, that's fine. Are you going to be okay if we go, though?" Nora asked her daughter with concern.

"Yeah, Mom, you guys go. I'll be fine here," Casey smiled weakly.

Nora sighed, "Well, okay. Call if you need anything, kay?"

"Yep."

"Okay," Nora said before kissing Casey on the forehead. She patted her arm then walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Casey rolled onto her side and pulled the covers up. She heard her mom walk down the stairs and people talking and a door shut and then she was out again.

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Something was vibrating. _What is that?! _Casey thought to her in-between consciousnesses self. She sat up and looked around, finally seeing the source of the vibration. She picked up her cell phone and flipped it open. 1 Unread Message. It was from Truman. She ignored it and threw her phone across her room. Looking over at the clock, she saw it was only 6:57pm and the rest of the blended family were probably still at dinner. Her stomach started making noises so she pushed her covers off of her and left her room, staggering slightly from all the sleep. Casey started walking down the stairs but stopped when she saw that all the lights were out but the TV was still on. She walked down to the landing and there, sitting on his chair was Derek.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with a confused look on her face.

Derek whipped his head around, startled at hearing Casey's voice. "Jeez, Case," he said, "trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Maybe. What are you doing here?" Casey asked again stepping down the rest of the stairs to stand in front of Derek. "I thought you were going to dinner with everybody else."

"Well, I _was _going to, but then Nora said that you didn't feel well, so I said I'd stay home," Derek told her, looking down bashfully.

A smile tugged at Casey lips and she said simply, "Oh," before sauntering around Derek and into the kitchen. She grabbed a bag of chips and a bottle of water then sat down on the couch.

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Casey was sitting at the end of the couch farthest from Derek chair and she could feel him watching her. She had already eaten all the chips and just now finished her water, so she set the bottle down and looked at Derek.

"What?" she asked.

"I was just thinking," Derek said, absently.

"About?" Casey asked, confused.

Derek suddenly jumped up and sat next to Casey. "Why did you say _step_-sister?"

Now Casey was seriously confused. "What are you talking about?"

"When we were in your room and I said that you were the most annoying sister and _you _said _step_-sister."

"Okay, I guess because I'm so used to correcting other people?" Casey said slowly.

"But when you said that I was the most annoying brother and I said _step_-brother _you _said same difference!" Derek said, now out of breath.

Casey was looking at him like he was crazy and asked "Derek, what's your point?"

Derek's eyes got wide and he smacked his forehead with his hand. "I just want to know if you still think it's the same difference," he said looking down.

"Derek, I," Casey lifted his chin with her hands so that he was looking at her, "have _never _thought that it was the same difference. I've never thought of you as a brother." Now Casey looked down, "I don't even know why I said that, I just--" But Casey was cut off by Derek's mouth crashing down over hers. She responded instantly and could feel Derek smirk against her lips. Derek pulled back but rested his forehead against Casey's. "So, was _that _an actual kiss?" Casey asked, smiling.

Derek laughed, "Yeah, _that_ was a kiss." Casey giggled and this time she kissed him.

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They stayed that way for a while and obviously didn't hear the car pull up to the house and the key in the door because the next thing they knew the lights came on.

"Derek, who are you--" George started to ask his son but stopped when he saw Casey. "Oh! Oh, dear."

"What is it, Georgie?" Nora asked but stopped when she saw Derek and Casey on the couch. "What exactly are you two doing?"

Casey's face was bright red and she started stuttering, "Mom, we--well, we--," but was cut off by Lizzie and Edwin who had run into the living room.

"Yes! I win!" Lizzie yelled and then turned to Edwin and held out her hand. "Forty dollars," she said to him, expectantly.

"Aw, come on! Couldn't you guys just wait another week?! Jeez!" Edwin whined before reaching into his pocket and slapping two twenties in Lizzie's hand.

"Wait, you two were betting on when _this_," Nora said waving her hands at Casey and Derek, "would happen!" Lizzie nodded happily while Edwin nodded and then sighed. "Okay, go to your rooms. And take Marti with you, we have to talk to _them_," Nora said pointedly and watched the three children run upstairs before turning on Casey and Derek who were now sitting instead of laying on the couch.

George and Nora walked in front of them and George turned off the TV, sighing.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Nora screeched. "You're siblings!"

"_Step-_siblings!" Derek and Casey both yelled.

"That means we're not blood-related, mom!" Casey continued.

"Still! You live in the same house!"

"Not for long," Derek said and Casey grabbed his hand, smiling. Nora just looked away, shaking her head.

"Okay, you two go to your rooms while Nora and I discuss this," George calmly said.

Derek and Casey jumped up and raced up the stairs while still holding hands. They started to their different doors when Derek pulled on Casey's hand and she was up against him. She smiled up at him and he leaned down to kiss her. Her hands automatically tangled in his messy hair and his rested on her waist. They broke apart for air and he whispered, "Come in my room in five minutes." She nodded and they dispersed into their separate rooms.


	5. Scream My Name

Disclaimer - I do not own Life With Derek. But, if someone wanted to get me a birthday present…

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Five minutes had passed and there was till no sign of Nora or George so Casey quietly inched open her door, checking if the coast was clear. She tip-toed her way to Derek's door, gave a courtesy knock, and then let herself in. Derek was at his computer and he smiled when he saw her. She sat in the chair opposite of him, gave a faint smile and then asked, "What do ya think they're gonna do?"

"What can they do? I mean really, we're eighteen. We're going to University soon, so it really doesn't matter what they say. We'll be fine."

"But, Derek, it _does_ matter. They're our family. I know that _we'll _be fine. It's just them that I'm worried about."

"Casey," Derek said, taking her hand in his, "nothing they can do or say will keep us from being together."

Casey smiled and scooted her chair around the desk so that it was next to Derek's. "Aw, Derek. Who knew you could be such a romantic?"

Derek rolled his eyes, but smiled, "Yeah, just don't tell anyone. My rep is at stake here." Casey playfully punched him in the arm but he continued, "Not to mention how badly it's hurt now that I'm dating a keener."

"Der-ek!" Casey went to punch him again, but he caught her arm this time.

"You know, I love it when you say my name like that."

"Oh, really?" Casey blushed.

"Yep, always have," Derek pulled her closed to him, "And I would also love hearing you scream it in a…_different_ setting."

"Der-ek!"

Derek laughed and closed the gap in between them. They were so lost in one another that they didn't hear the footsteps coming up the stairs or Derek's door opening. What they did hear, however, was George clearing his throat loudly and Nora huffing, "Don't you two ever give it a rest?" Derek and Casey jumped apart and Casey sat back in her own chair since she had climbed onto Derek's lap during their makeout session.

"Okay, so since you're going to University in a couple of weeks, there's really nothing we can do--" George started out, but Nora cut in.

"But this doesn't mean that we're happy about this!" She sighed loudly and then turned to George. " I knew that this would happen. I _told _you."

"Wait, you _knew_?" Casey questioned her mother.

"Well, why do you think we kept you from meeting for so long?"

"Uhm, because you didn't want us to fight?" Derek said, remembering when Lizzie had told them about it during Nora and George's anniversary dinner.

"It wasn't just about the fighting," Nora laughed and then rolled her eyes, turning back to George once again. "You can take care of this. I'm hungry." She stated, walking out of the bedroom.

George sat down on the bed and then looked up at the two eighteen year olds who had confused looks on their faces. "It's just the baby," he tried to explain, but quickly gave up, switching the topic. "Okay, so I'm just going to say it. I am actually happy for the both of you."

Derek and Casey's faces turned from confused to shocked and they both stuttered out a, "What?"

"I mean, yeah, Nora and I discussed what would happen if the two of you…well _happened. _And personally, I'm glad that you found each other. Look at how long it took Nora and myself to find each other. Casey and Derek's shocked looks were now replaced by embarrassed ones and George looked at Derek saying, "And don't let her go, Derek. She makes you do better. You two seem to balance one another out. Which is odd but true," George chuckled. "So, anyway," he said, getting up from the bed and walking over to the door. "I'll try and bring Nora around. And Marti will obviously do anything you say, Derek. And Lizzie and Edwin will--Oh, dear. I'm gonna go check on them," he exclaimed, running out the door and shutting it behind him. Once the door was shut, Derek pulled Casey back onto his lap and started kissing her neck.

"Well, that was really nice of him," Casey said.

"Mmhmm," Derek agreed against Casey's throat.

"And I'm sure that he can get my mom to come around, right?" Derek just nodded against her neck. "Derek!" She exclaimed, reluctantly raising his head with her hands from where it was. "Any thoughts?"

Derek looked thoughtfully at her and then smirked, "Well, now that pretty much all of the fam is cool with this, how 'bout we try that you screaming my name thing--" He was cut off though by Casey punching him.

"Der-ek!"

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Fin.

Hope you liked it.

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